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At our Spanish wine tasting last week, all of the best sellers were from Bodegas Muga - no surprise there!
#1 Best Seller - Bodegas Muga Seleccion Especial Rioja Reserva 2018
All grapes from Torre Muga ($125), Prado Enea ($100), and Aro ($400) went into THIS vintage:
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96 Points - Wine Enthusiast
"...a bouquet of black cherry, blackberry and licorice. Flavors of black currant, pomegranate, anisette, dark chocolate and black truffle..."
95 Points - Robert Parker's WA
"...floral, expressive and elegant. It's medium to full- bodied, with very fine, chalky tannins, combining power and elegance. Amazing!"
95 Points - Tim Atkin, MW
"Always a comparative bargain in the Muga range, this Selección Especial benefited from the fact that Torre Muga, Prado Enea and Aro were not produced in 2018... this is sweet, succulent, refreshing..."
94 Points - James Suckling
"Vibrant and fragrant. Smaller production and greater selection this year - only Rioja Reserva and Seleccion Especial made."
94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
"Straight-up gorgeous on the palate, it shines for its purity, has ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. I'm a fan."
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#2 Best Seller - Bodegas Muga Prado Enea Rioja Gran Reserva 2015
98 Points - Wine & Spirits
98 Points - Wine Enthusiast
97 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
97 Points - James Suckling
96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
94 Points & #53 Top 100 of 2022 - Wine Spectator
#3 Best Seller - Bodegas Muga Torre Muga Rioja 2019
98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck
97 Points - James Suckling
95+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Info about all three is provided below!
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Muga makes their own French oak barrels at the Bodega & and ages this wine for 26 months.
The result? Never-ending waves of mocha, espresso, leather, black cherry, and cassis.
Bodegas Muga was founded in 1932, and has since quickly risen to become the top Spanish winery in the world.
The winery controls every step of the viticultural and vinification process from the vineyards to making their own barrels and fermenting and aging the wine entirely in oak. Muga is one of only six estates in the world that owns its own cooperage and they import the oak directly from the United States and France.
They play by their own rules, and it works... neither traditional nor modern, these wines have paved a proven style all on their own.
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2018 Bodegas Muga Rioja Reserva Seleccion Especial
96 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Deep ruby in the glass, this wine offers a bouquet of black cherry, blackberry and licorice. Flavors of black currant, pomegranate, anisette, dark chocolate and black truffle are supported by plush tannins that drift into a cherry-tobacco finish. " - Mike Desimone (3/1/23)
95 Points - Robert Parker's WA:
"2018 was a cooler vintage, with a fairly long maturation, which made the wines somewhat fresher and less alcoholic, as showcased by the 2018 Selección Especial, a classical blend of the four red varieties from Rioja, Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano with contained ripeness (14.05% alcohol) and good freshness. It fermented in oak casks with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 26 months. They were not very happy with the vintage and had to sort and discard, but as they didn't produce Prado Enea, Torre Muga or Haro, those grapes went into this wine. They are reluctant about 2018, but I think it was a vintage capable of the best and the worst, and this 2018 is floral, expressive and elegant. It's medium to full- bodied, with very fine, chalky tannins, combining power and elegance. Amazing!" - Luis Gutierrez (7/14/23)
95 Points - Tim Atkin, MW:
"Always a comparative bargain in the Muga range, this Selección Especial benefited from the fact that Torre Muga, Prado Enea and Aro were not produced in 2018. Combining Tempranillo with 15% Garnacha and 5% each of Mazuelo and Graciano, most of it from the area around Haro, this is sweet, succulent, refreshing and comparatively forward, with scented French oak and layers of spicy dark berry fruit." (2/2023)
94 Points - James Suckling:
"Fresh and dried cherries, oyster shells, spice box and dried herbs on the nose. Flint stone, too. Structured, mineral and very fresh with tight and fine-grained tannins and a medium body. Vibrant and fragrant. Lightly austere at the end. Smaller production and greater selection this year - only Rioja Reserva and Seleccion Especial made. Try from 2024." (9/9/2022)
94 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2018 Muga Selección Especial is 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano y Mazuelo. It shows the fresher style of the vintage yet has good richness in its cassis and black raspberry fruit profile as well as notes of tobacco leaf, violets, and spicy oak. Straight-up gorgeous on the palate, it shines for its purity, has ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. I'm a fan." - Jeb Dunnuck (6/13/2022)
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- 24 bottles in-stock for now
Elsewhere: $54.99 btl
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OURS
( 1-5 ) $49.97 btl
(6-11) $47.97 btl
( 12+ ) $44.97 btl
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2015 Bodegas Muga "Prado Enea" Rioja Gran Reserva
98 Points - Wine & Spirits:
"Touching the sensors of pleasure and pain, this wine’s fruit ripened to a red-peach-at-the-pit intensity, while its tannins seem to strangle all that succulence under their delicate, yet persistent grip. Those tannins bring out the floral and earthy sides of the wine, their austerity neither harsh nor drying, triggering salivation and setting up a hunger for leg of lamb roasted pink. The Muga family selects the fruit for Prado Enea from plots in the south-facing hills of Villalba de Rioja. They age it for a year in large American oak vats, then three years in mostly French oak barrels, holding it in bottle for another three years prior to release."
98 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"This dark-ruby wine offers a bouquet of ripe cherry and baking spices. Notes of clove and nutmeg transition to the palate alongside flavors of blackberry, cassis, chocolate-covered espresso bean, eucalyptus and violet. Luxurious tannins amble towards a lengthy finish."
97 Points - Robert Parker's WA:
"The most classical of their wines, the 2015 Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, mostly from Rioja Alta (Sajazarra, Cellorigo and Fonzaleche), but the Garnacha is from different plots in the zone of Tudelilla at high altitude. These grapes are always picked last, but the wine has a similar alcohol level as the rest, around 14.5% in a warm year like 2019. The modus operandi is similar to other of the top cuvées—harvested into 200-kilogram boxes, destemming, optical sorting and fermentation in small oak casks with indigenous yeasts. The élevage in this case is extended to 36 months, and the barrels are only 10% new. This is, year in, year out, my favorite wine from Muga, and in this powerful and ripe year, these late-harvesting vines ripened thoroughly and delivered a full array of aromas and flavors so that the wine has plenty of depth and complexity. It has a very classical profile, with incipient tertiary notes, perfumed, floral and rich, textured and beautifully balanced. They compare this 2015 with 2009 and 2005 in terms of style but with freshness in the style of 2001 and 2010. It's enjoyable but should also develop for a long time in bottle. One of the finest Prado Enea vintages. 108,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2018. There's no 2012 or 2013 of this. There will be a 2016 and 2019, but no 2017 or 2018. 2020 is still a question mark, they have not yet decided it." - LG (7/22)
97 Points - James Suckling:
"Reserved and polished, this is a Prado Enea with great class and focus. It’s so aromatic,with plum, peach, cherry and cedar character. Salted olives, too. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins and a long, fresh finish. Elegance with power here. Give it three or four years to open, but already impressive." (Nov 2022)
96 Points - Jeb Dunnick
"The 2015 Prado Enea Gran Reserva comes from a hotter, riper vintage, but it shares similar gamey, exotic aromatics of red and black fruits, sappy herbs, flowers, leather, iron, and background cedary oak. Rich, medium to full-bodied, incredibly pure, and balanced, it has ripe, still present tannins, impeccable balance, and a great finish. This is a classic expression of this cuvée that can be enjoyed any time over the coming two decades or more." (6/2022)
94 Points, #53 Top 100 of 2022 - Wine Spectator:
"Well-tailored in an understated way, this harmonious red is plushly creamy on the palate, like fine cashmere, showing seamless integration of the sculpted tannins with finely detailed flavors of black cherry and black plum reduction, sandalwood, cedar, green olive, espresso crema and minerally smoke and iron. Long and lightly juicy on the refined finish. Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Drink now through 2030. 8,000 cases made, 2,000 cases imported." - AN (Oct 2022)
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- 15 bottles left - end of the vintage
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OURS
(1-2) $114.97 btl
(3-5) $109.97 btl
(6-11) $99.97 btl
(12+) $89.97 btl
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2019 Bodegas Muga Torre Muga" Rioja
98+ Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2019 Torre Muga is always a more powerful, ripe expression of Rioja that never loses its sense of place. Deep ruby/purple, with a glorious bouquet of cassis, graphite, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and crushed stone, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a deep, pure, multi-dimensional texture, building tannins, and good acidity. It's young, unevolved, yet oh, so promising. Hide bottles for 7-8 years if you can, and it will cruise for 20-30 years. The blend is 80% Tempranillo and the balance Mazuelo and Graciano, aged 18 months in French oak." (Jun 2022)
97 Points - James Suckling:
Intense nose of black fruit, ink, roasted espresso, black truffle and dried rosemary. It’s full-bodied with so much power and concentration. Firm but very velvety and integrated tannins. Deep core of black fruit. Yet, it’s not heavy. Long. One for the cellar. Try this from 2027.
95 Points - Robert Parker's WA:
"The 2019 Torre Muga showcases the classical blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo (Cariñena) and Graciano, all from old and some ancient vines. The grapes are harvested into 200-kilogram boxes, the bunches destemmed and the grapes put through optical sorting to ferment in small oak vats with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic was in new French oak barrels, where the wine aged after racking for some 18 months, during which time it was racked every eight to nine months. It was fined with egg whites. 2019 is a great vintage for Muga, and they produced quality and quantity, which is remarkable. This has a slightly more modern profile and some French oak undertones, more noticeable in a wide glass and subtler in a narrower one. But it has stuffing, freshness and balance to absorb it in the short to medium term. And it's a year of power and finesse, one of the best in recent years. 47,880 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2021." – LG (Jul 2022)
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- 18 bottles left - end of the vintage
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OURS
(1-5) $139.97 btl
(6-11) $135.97 btl
(12+) $129.97 btl
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